1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for calculating a convergence index, and more particularly, to a method for calculating a convergence index by utilizing patent information.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the start of the 21st century, convergence between homogeneous and heterogeneous fields such as technology and technology, product and service, service and service, or the like over all industrial areas has accelerated. The term “convergence” has started to be used in such a manner that combination of communication, broadcasting, and media has been predicted by Professor Negroponte of MIT and the predicted combination has been examined in academia.
For example, over the course of the 1990s, all industrial areas developed into IT convergence in which IT is combined.
With the start of the 21st century, the United States, the EU, Japan, and the like have expanded R&D and investment with respect to convergence technologies, and various types of convergence have exponentially increased. The United States set convergence of bio technologies, information technologies, and cognitive science based on nano technologies as the national agenda, and the EU aims for convergence of a wide range of disciplines and technologies as well as convergence of nano, bio, information, and cognitive (NBIC) technologies.
In this manner, convergence has been established as the global agenda in the world, and in Korea, according to such global trends, the “Industrial Convergence Promotion Act” was passed in the National Assembly on April 2011, and became effective in October 2011.
However, despite such trends of convergence, a clear and highly valid convergence index which quantifies the degree of convergence has not been developed, and therefore there are urgent needs to develop an objective and reasonable convergence index.